The 9th day of the month of Av (Jewish calendar) is the day when both the first and second Temples were destroyed, the first by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.E.; the second by the Romans in 70 C.E. It is a day of fasting and mourning for religious Jews around the world.
The destruction of the Temple meant the destruction of the centerpiece of Judaism, tearing apart of the foundation of Jewish culture and the Nation of Israel.
This and the exile that followed should have been enough to eliminate the Jewish people. It wasn’t.
2000 years did not make the Jewish people forget.
The image people around the world today have of the Temple Mount is that of the golden domed mosque which was built on the ruins of the Temple in 691 C.E. Since that time the Dome of the Rock has been a holy place for the Muslim people – although not central to their religion. Considered the third holiest location in Islam, it is not mentioned a single time in the Koran. In fact, the reason Al-Aqsa became important in Islam was to further a political agenda, not a religious one (See the historical explanation by Dr. Mordechai Kedar here ).
Within the Dome of the Rock is the Foundation Stone, the foundation on which it is believed that God created the earth. This was the Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Covenant was placed, within the ancient Jewish Temple.
Although the Nation of Israel has re-established the State of Israel we have not really returned to the heart of our nation, the pulsing center, the source of the holiness of Jerusalem – the Temple Mount in the heart of the capital of our State. Jews are not allowed anywhere near the site that is most holy to us. We may not enter the Dome of the Rock, not even to look. Ascending to the Temple Mount is highly restricted and prayers are strictly forbidden. International attempts are being made to deny Jewish connection to the Temple Mount and to Jerusalem, for the same reason ancient conquerors did.
Today we mourn what was lost to our people. Today we mourn what we have yet to regain.
This is our legacy. Through Judaism, this is also the legacy of the Christian world. Will we allow ourselves to be denied our roots in order so others may have our future?
“May my tongue cleave to my mouth, if I ever think not of thee, if I ever prize not Jerusalem above all joys!” Psalm 137
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